COMMENTARY

After Maine and Nevada, Ron Paul backers aim for win in Idaho

James Carlton of the Lincoln County State Committee counts votes of his county's delegates during the election of national committeemen at the Maine Republican Convention at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta, Maine, Saturday, May 5, 2012.

By Dan Popkey, The Idaho Statesman

Posted May 08, 2012, at 5:28 a.m.

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Ryan Davidson, the former Idaho Libertarian Party chairman and current third vice chairman of the Ada County Republican Central Committee, is using news of what he calls a “vicious” establishment GOP pushback to help raise money in the final days of the May 15 primary campaign.

Davidson is hoping to repeat what happened in Nevada and Maine over the weekend, where presidential candidate Ron Paul’s supporters won control of state GOP conventions and captured the majority of delegates to the national convention.

In a 10-minute video Davidson outlines the Idaho Paulers plan to suspend rules at the state convention and reverse the results of the March 6 GOP caucus, where Mitt Romney won 62 percent of the vote and all 32 national delegates. Davidson discusses taking over the convention starting at 7 minutes.

Davidson posted the video before the caucus as a training tool, but removed it in recent days after establishment Republicans, including former Gov. Phil Batt, fought back with a campaign to elect precinct committeemen loyal to Romney. The video was to have been available as a link from Sunday’s story, but a technical issue stalled its posting.

On his Idahoans for Liberty website Sunday, Davidson said the Paulers need money to counter the GOP effort, which includes 20,000 postcards in Ada County.

Writes Davidson: “A recent newspaper article in our local rag, The Idaho Statesman, describes how the Establishment GOP is viciously attacking the Ron Paul supporters and we need your help. Please click the paypal ‘donate’ button (below) to make a generous donation to help us win our precinct races across the State of Idaho and seize control of the Idaho GOP.

“Idahoans for Liberty has been at this battle since 2007 and we have made great progress in taking over our State GOP. We can finish the job this election cycle, but we need your help to match the Establishment’s 20,000 postcard mailers they are sending out to defeat us. Please click the paypal “donate” button (below) to make a generous donation. By the way, monetary donations to precinct candidates do NOT fall under the Sunshine laws, hence they can be anonymous.”

The Paul plan to capsize the GOP in Idaho is more difficult to execute than in some states where heavy attendance by Paul supporters at county and state conventions can swamp the party establishment. In Idaho, only the winners of Idaho’s 925 precinct committee contests on the May 15 GOP primary ballot are eligible to attend county conventions, where state convention delegates are elected. The state convention will chose delegates to the national convention.